[Wii U] What to do about Wii U?

GlueGun18
Worse with Kinect



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Launching a new console is hardly an exact science. There has been a long history of shaky console launches for a myriad of reasons - poor marketing, lackluster launch lineups, faulty hardware, prohibitive launch prices, underwhelming usage of new technology, or all of the above. Recent history has provided us with two prime examples: In early 2011, Nintendo unleashed the 3DS to strong launch sales that soon plummeted to alarming levels in the following months. A hefty $250 price tag combined with a barren library of software prompted the familiar “Nintendoomed” cries from cynical onlookers. About a year later, Sony failed to learn from Nintendo’s mistakes when they launched their own new handheld in the Vita, enduring the same sluggish sales following launch thanks to its own lack of compelling games and pricey entry level. It’s interesting, however, that in the time since their respective post-launch letdowns the two handhelds have gone in complete opposite directions: The 3DS has exploded to the tune of 30 million units sold in just two years thanks to a steady stream of impressive game releases along with a price drop and a worthy hardware redesign. Meanwhile, the Vita continues to sell at a snail’s pace with fewer than 5 million units sold in its first year-and-a-bit as gamers point to a lack of must-have titles and pricey memory cards as justification for keeping the money in their wallets. This fact alone should serve as a warning to those who like to jump to wild conclusions in the first few months following a console's launch.

It feels like déjà vu all over again in the early months of 2013 though following the launch of Nintendo’s first HD console, the Wii U. Nintendo promised that they wouldn’t make the same mistakes at launch with the Wii U as it did with the 3DS, and many of us believed them. Oops. The console saw solid launch sales as it closed out 2012 with around 3 million units sold worldwide by New Year’s, but the time since has seen Wii U sales slow to a crawl, once again making Nintendo the target of much criticism and leaving some to wonder if the company is longed to continue competing in the home console business. About this time a year ago, I wrote an article pleading patience on behalf of the Vita as it drew widespread criticism while it struggled through its own post-launch problems. Things haven’t improved much (if any) for Sony’s ailing handheld since then, so perhaps my attempt to be the voice of calm and reason on behalf of the Wii U will fall on deaf ears, but five months into the console’s lifespan is hardly enough time to justify such panic. That being said, Nintendo has their work cut out for them if they are to turn the Wii U’s fortunes around.

NSMBU was not the system-seller Nintendo thought it would be.
The first question that needs to be asked is: how did this happen (again)? Most will point to the underwhelming software library currently available. There are polarizing views on the Wii U’s lineup of launch software. For some - primarily those who never owned a PS3 or Xbox 360 - the launch library provided an almost overwhelming abundance of quality titles to indulge in with the likes of Darksiders II, Mass Effect 3, Ninja Gaiden 3, Assassin’s Creed III, Scribblenauts Unlimited, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and Batman: Arkham City complemented by exclusives Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, and ZombiU to keep them busy for many months. For many others who had played most of these titles on other platforms months earlier, the launch library seemed far less enticing as the few console exclusives seemed to lack the “must-have” quality to motivate them to drop $400 or more of their hard-earned cash on a Wii U. The months following launch have done little to alter that perception either. Flagship “launch window” titles Pikmin 3, Rayman Legends, and The Wonderful 101 have all been delayed until late summer or even later, leaving only a small handful of titles like Lego City Undercover, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted U to carry the load until the cavalry arrives later in the year, however it’s already clear that these games do not have the clout to significantly boost hardware sales on their own. Even the staunchest Nintendo supporter will admit that this leaves few reasons for prospective buyers to take the plunge at this point in time.
"Launch window" my ass.
The cavalry is coming though. In January, a much-needed Nintendo Direct presentation offered some reassurance by confirming that in addition to the three titles mentioned earlier, Wii U owners have a new 3D Super Mario, Mario Kart Wii U, Super Smash Bros. 4, a new Legend of Zelda, Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, Monolith Soft’s X, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, Bayonetta 2, and Yarn Yoshi to look forward to in terms of exclusives, though it’s unclear how far away many of these titles are from releasing. A smattering of third-party support is being sprinkled in as well, with Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Batman: Arkham Origins, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Watch Dogs, and Resident Evil: Revelations also on the way. We also expect that Nintendo has a few other aces up their sleeves (not the least of which is Retro Studios’ mystery project), hopefully some of which will be unveiled at E3 in less than two months. Is it too late though? With Sony and Microsoft set to finish unveiling their own next-gen consoles at E3 leading up to a late-2013 launch, Nintendo seems to have squandered its one-year opportunity to gain an advantage over its competitors by convincing fence-sitters to make an impulse buy. I have no doubt that games like Mario, Mario Kart, Smash Bros., and Zelda will do wonders in improving Wii U sales exponentially (as they did for the 3DS), however with hype surrounding the PlayStation 4 and Xbox Next continuing to grow and the Wii U mired in negativity for the time being and foreseeable future, Nintendo will have to work hard to convince gamers that the Wii U is the console to put their money on this year.
Rest assured Nintendo's big franchises will come, and they will move a lot of hardware. Just hurry up.
Beyond Nintendo’s own inability to sufficiently supply their new console with software early in its lifespan, another major concern is the lack of third-party support. While it’s nothing new for Nintendo consoles to get snubbed on major third-party releases, Nintendo made it clear prior to the Wii U’s launch that there was a concerted effort to make the hardware developer-friendly so that it would be easy to port games from other platforms. The fruits of that labor seemed bountiful at launch, but since then the Wii U has become something of a black sheep among consoles. There were plenty of multiplatform candidates early this year to fill in the void of software on the Wii U – Crysis 3 (which was up and running on Wii U but never released), Tomb Raider, Dead Space 3, BioShock Infinite, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – however disappointingly none of their respective developers deemed it worth the effort. That might be somewhat understandable considering the Wii U’s relatively small user base, however it appears few are willing to take the chance even as we transition into the next generation of hardware (with the exception of Ubisoft). Battlefield 4 is coming out on literally every console except the Wii U, while Grand Theft Auto V, Dark Souls 2, Metro: Last Light, The Witcher 3, Lost Planet 3, Remember Me, Destiny, and Thief 4 are just a few of the other upcoming blockbusters that will be giving Wii U the cold shoulder for various reasons. Some companies like Take-Two have already made it fairly clear that they are not interested in bringing their games to Wii U, meanwhile Nintendo and Electronic Arts appear to be clashing in some sort of behind-the-scenes feud at the moment. The relationship with other major publishers is uncertain at best for the time being. The success of Nintendo consoles have always been weighed primarily on the strength of its first-party exclusives and the Wii U will be no different. Still, it would be ignorant to shrug off the lack of third-party support as insignificant, and in this department we can only hope that faith in the Wii U from third parties grows with its user base and Nintendo continues to lobby on behalf of its new console to grab some more exciting third-party experiences.
Direct your love letters to Ubisoft, Wii U owners.
So how does Nintendo right the ship at this point? Many will be quick to suggest a price drop as the answer; however the cost is probably not an issue for most gamers if the games are there and with Nintendo apparently losing money on each console, this seems like an unlikely option for the foreseeable future. The first step begins with E3, where we can only hope and pray that Nintendo has learned from last year’s debacle that was more a week-long Nintendo Land demo than a proper showcase of a new console. The fact that the company has been unleashing a landslide of exciting 3DS announcements over the last couple of months would lead us to believe that E3 will be a very Wii U-centric event for the Big N, at least that’s what we’re hoping. Showing off all the aforementioned titles along with a surprise or two and hopefully some additional third party support would go a long way in restoring confidence in the Wii U. From there, a proper marketing strategy (seriously, many people still have no idea what a Wii U is) leading into a blockbuster-laden second half that will begin with Pikmin 3 and continue with a steady stream of software into next year will effectively erase any memory of this depressing post-launch drought, regardless of what Sony and Microsoft do.

It was a longshot from the start for the Wii U to replicate the incredible success of its predecessor (at least in terms of sales), however that doesn’t mean it can’t still be a great success. That hasn’t changed because of a shaky first five months, despite what Nintendo critics and industry “analysts” might have you believe. Of course we would have preferred that the Wii U would have started stronger out of the gate and hopefully Nintendo has learned the error of its ways, but the life of a console is very much a marathon rather than a sprint. If you doubt that, revisit the same debate that occurred repeatedly in the months following the 3DS launch and compare it to where that console is now. I have little doubt that the Wii U, as with every Nintendo console, has many incredible experiences in store for us. That, rather than just sales, should be the mark of what defines a console’s greatness, but hopefully for Nintendo's sake and the sake of the entire industry the two will go hand in hand. Let’s wait and see at least.

Written by: Mike Glubish

(This post was last modified: 04-21-2013 09:42 PM by GlueGun18.)

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